Also, the article sourced in the submission is apparently using a copyrighted image, that of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon 20th anniversary cover. IANAL, but it doesn't look like it's covered under fair use, either.
If your developers are too lazy to set up a test system that is imaged the same as a production box, with a test account at normal user privileges, why do you keep them around? This is part of the reason why I had to switch titles, to be honest, not just the perception that developers are criminals. Most of the restrictions I was forced to live under are due to other programmers deciding to make code changes and fixes on the live servers, during production hours, causing many hours of application downtime and possible data loss. It's developmestuction "programmers" like these that give the rest of us a bad name...
However, I believe that a good programmer, with an established methodology of development, with separate environments (dev, testing, production) and a change control approval system to move code and binaries from one step to the next, shouldn't be crippled in that process by a bureaucratic overreaction. As the situation was turning out, I would need to request that a desktop support technician, who had full access to the network, move my code from one step to the next. Granted, these guys aren't just minimum-wage helpdesk monkeys, but they aren't exactly SQL-savvy, and to ask a non-coder to make the necessary database changes and software installation was pretty much like having a mechanic ask a car salesman to put a new engine and transmission in his car.
What gets me is that the pointy-haired types attach so much baggage to the title, like it's a cattle brand or something. Especially with the current corporate environment (thank you, Sarbanes-Oxley), the same exact job can mean two different things, depending on the title...
For example, I work for a fairly big Fortune 500 as a developer-slash-DBA-slash-webmaster (you know the drill, many hats, one paycheck). Last month, I was "Systems Development Specialist". Until they decided that anyone with "developer" in the title was an offshored cubicle dweller with all intention of getting their hands on some identities and credit cards (hey, I didn't make this generalization, don't blame me). I was already busted down from having domain admin privileges to local admin on just a few boxes (SQL server, webserver, development server, and my own PC). After the new title policy change, I was going to lose everything but the developer login, and I would even lose local privileges on my own PC. That was pretty much the last straw for me, since I figured after 7 years of pre-SOX full access, where if I'd had the will (and total lack of morals) to do so, I could have made it out of there with thousands of credit card numbers. What do they reward my loyalty with? Shackles. "Here, wear these boxing gloves when you code, it'll be harder for you to do it, but our data will be safe from your evil wicked ways!"
Anyway, as I was about to hand in my notice, my immediate supervisor, a down-in-the-trenches network guy who ended up Site IT Manager, told me he managed to get my title switched to "Senior Information Management Specialist". Guess what my job description is? Exactly the same as System Development Specialist, although couched in more generic terms to prevent any instances of "developer" or "programmer" to show up. And now I have my access back, and I don't have to have someone hold my hand and wipe my ass when I implement change controls from my dev environment to production. All because of a few words in the title, I went from criminal suspect to a functional member of the IT staff.
According to the article I just read in Computer Gaming World, Crysis will release with DX9 native, with a "painless one-click DX10 upgrade option" once Vista is available. Which probably means a hefty download patch will be involved. Nothing new, some of the more recent games (UT2k4, HL2, WoW, and the "original" FarCry) tacked on 64-bit native mode in later patches. The FarCry patch even added additional level of detail and enhanced maps with their 64-bit version, so we already know they're willing to play the hefty patch game.
Actually, according to the article I just read in Computer Gaming World, Crysis will release with DX9 native, with a painless one-click DX10 upgrade option once Vista is available....but I'm sure you *did* notice that the game's release date is November 2006, whereas Vista is not due out until end of January, right?
Not really, I've seen worse. I switched from a Wildlife & Fisheries major to a dual Computer Science and Philosophy major, and was thinking about adding an English minor to the mix. I've seen someone turn a Philosophy major directly into a Masters in Computer Science, with a concentration in Database Management. And then there was the guy who dropped out of a dual Music/Education major in the middle of the fifth year to start all over again for a CS degree...
Do you know how many email messages are sent by an average business per day, each containing important and confidential messages pertaining to the day-to-day transactions of that business? My company alone sends at least four PGP-encrypted emails a day, each containing valuable information such as customer credit cards.
And sure, we could send it plaintext, and assume that only those who wish to make a determined effort to spy on our company will get those credit cards. Or, we can live in the *real* world, and realize that any script kiddie "h4x0r" could use packet sniffing or other methods to easily obtain that information. And even with the strictest possible network security, you can't give 100% assurance to those customers that their credit cards are safe, and they will be satisfied with nothing less. Encryption allows us to approach that impossible 100% by at least a few orders of magnitude.
Although certainly Wizards is a dominant force in the Pen-and-Paper (PnP) RPG market, it's by no means the only company on the block, nor is it a Microsoft-like Goliath with only a few paltry Davids as competition. White Wolf games are still very popular, and for many are the first introduction into PnP gaming. The White Wolf LARP rules attract alot of theater types, which then gravitate toward the PnP games.
Also, even though FASA has closed it's doors, the Shadowrun and Battletech games have been transferred to another company. These games have loyal followers as well. And I'm sure Steve Jackson Games isn't going to roll over and die any time soon. And there are hundreds of companies still putting out product on a regular basis, ranging from the classics to new and unique systems.
In fact, I see Wizards as being a good thing for the roleplaying community. Granted, not everyone likes the AD&D "high fantasy" genre. And quite a few people who do like it have been outraged by the rules change evident in 3rd edition--the same people who took five years to get over their outrage when 2nd edition came out. Whether you love AD&D or hate it, love 3E or hate it, you have to admit that it's breathing new life into roleplaying games, and bringing over some new gamers who had previously only played twitch games on some console. And it's also providing a way for new RPG publishers to get a foothold in the market.
Unlike TSR, Wizards won't sue your ass if you want to make a game module and print it without their permission. All you have to do is put the Open Gaming Licence in your module or game supplement, and you can slap a "D20" logo which officially marks it as "D&D compatible". How many of us older gamers remember the glory days of Role Aids game supplements? It sickened me when T$R went after the little guys with their evil lawsuits, and persecuted them for the crime of wanting to contribute to the gaming community. But now, anyone can create adventure modules, monster guides, sourcebooks, and whole campaign worlds, and sell them with no royalty fees whatsoever, getting 100% of the profit of those sales.
Doesn't sound like the policies of a monopoly to me...
Slashdot Mirror
Nothing good can come from naming a product "ATMOS".
Do you want Sontarans? Because that's how you get Sontarans.
So basically, he really *is* tilting at windmills...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_cow
Mod parent +5 funny!
We need more physics jokes.
Also, the article sourced in the submission is apparently using a copyrighted image, that of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon 20th anniversary cover. IANAL, but it doesn't look like it's covered under fair use, either.
If your developers are too lazy to set up a test system that is imaged the same as a production box, with a test account at normal user privileges, why do you keep them around? This is part of the reason why I had to switch titles, to be honest, not just the perception that developers are criminals. Most of the restrictions I was forced to live under are due to other programmers deciding to make code changes and fixes on the live servers, during production hours, causing many hours of application downtime and possible data loss. It's developmestuction "programmers" like these that give the rest of us a bad name...
However, I believe that a good programmer, with an established methodology of development, with separate environments (dev, testing, production) and a change control approval system to move code and binaries from one step to the next, shouldn't be crippled in that process by a bureaucratic overreaction. As the situation was turning out, I would need to request that a desktop support technician, who had full access to the network, move my code from one step to the next. Granted, these guys aren't just minimum-wage helpdesk monkeys, but they aren't exactly SQL-savvy, and to ask a non-coder to make the necessary database changes and software installation was pretty much like having a mechanic ask a car salesman to put a new engine and transmission in his car.
What gets me is that the pointy-haired types attach so much baggage to the title, like it's a cattle brand or something. Especially with the current corporate environment (thank you, Sarbanes-Oxley), the same exact job can mean two different things, depending on the title...
For example, I work for a fairly big Fortune 500 as a developer-slash-DBA-slash-webmaster (you know the drill, many hats, one paycheck). Last month, I was "Systems Development Specialist". Until they decided that anyone with "developer" in the title was an offshored cubicle dweller with all intention of getting their hands on some identities and credit cards (hey, I didn't make this generalization, don't blame me). I was already busted down from having domain admin privileges to local admin on just a few boxes (SQL server, webserver, development server, and my own PC). After the new title policy change, I was going to lose everything but the developer login, and I would even lose local privileges on my own PC. That was pretty much the last straw for me, since I figured after 7 years of pre-SOX full access, where if I'd had the will (and total lack of morals) to do so, I could have made it out of there with thousands of credit card numbers. What do they reward my loyalty with? Shackles. "Here, wear these boxing gloves when you code, it'll be harder for you to do it, but our data will be safe from your evil wicked ways!"
Anyway, as I was about to hand in my notice, my immediate supervisor, a down-in-the-trenches network guy who ended up Site IT Manager, told me he managed to get my title switched to "Senior Information Management Specialist". Guess what my job description is? Exactly the same as System Development Specialist, although couched in more generic terms to prevent any instances of "developer" or "programmer" to show up. And now I have my access back, and I don't have to have someone hold my hand and wipe my ass when I implement change controls from my dev environment to production. All because of a few words in the title, I went from criminal suspect to a functional member of the IT staff.
According to the article I just read in Computer Gaming World, Crysis will release with DX9 native, with a "painless one-click DX10 upgrade option" once Vista is available. Which probably means a hefty download patch will be involved. Nothing new, some of the more recent games (UT2k4, HL2, WoW, and the "original" FarCry) tacked on 64-bit native mode in later patches. The FarCry patch even added additional level of detail and enhanced maps with their 64-bit version, so we already know they're willing to play the hefty patch game.
Actually, according to the article I just read in Computer Gaming World, Crysis will release with DX9 native, with a painless one-click DX10 upgrade option once Vista is available. ...but I'm sure you *did* notice that the game's release date is November 2006, whereas Vista is not due out until end of January, right?
Bet this pisses off those people with the "dupe post" hate-on. Two words: "GET OVER IT".
No problems here with cut & paste from IE under Windows XP to Cygwin bash...
Not really, I've seen worse. I switched from a Wildlife & Fisheries major to a dual Computer Science and Philosophy major, and was thinking about adding an English minor to the mix. I've seen someone turn a Philosophy major directly into a Masters in Computer Science, with a concentration in Database Management. And then there was the guy who dropped out of a dual Music/Education major in the middle of the fifth year to start all over again for a CS degree...
Goes to show, geekdom is universal.
It's also possible he's just an idiot and can't get his pen to write what his brain is thinking.
Well, not to put too a fine point on it, we're talking about a guy who lost an election to a dead man...
Do you know how many email messages are sent by an average business per day, each containing important and confidential messages pertaining to the day-to-day transactions of that business? My company alone sends at least four PGP-encrypted emails a day, each containing valuable information such as customer credit cards.
And sure, we could send it plaintext, and assume that only those who wish to make a determined effort to spy on our company will get those credit cards. Or, we can live in the *real* world, and realize that any script kiddie "h4x0r" could use packet sniffing or other methods to easily obtain that information. And even with the strictest possible network security, you can't give 100% assurance to those customers that their credit cards are safe, and they will be satisfied with nothing less. Encryption allows us to approach that impossible 100% by at least a few orders of magnitude.
Although certainly Wizards is a dominant force in the Pen-and-Paper (PnP) RPG market, it's by no means the only company on the block, nor is it a Microsoft-like Goliath with only a few paltry Davids as competition. White Wolf games are still very popular, and for many are the first introduction into PnP gaming. The White Wolf LARP rules attract alot of theater types, which then gravitate toward the PnP games.
Also, even though FASA has closed it's doors, the Shadowrun and Battletech games have been transferred to another company. These games have loyal followers as well. And I'm sure Steve Jackson Games isn't going to roll over and die any time soon. And there are hundreds of companies still putting out product on a regular basis, ranging from the classics to new and unique systems.
In fact, I see Wizards as being a good thing for the roleplaying community. Granted, not everyone likes the AD&D "high fantasy" genre. And quite a few people who do like it have been outraged by the rules change evident in 3rd edition--the same people who took five years to get over their outrage when 2nd edition came out. Whether you love AD&D or hate it, love 3E or hate it, you have to admit that it's breathing new life into roleplaying games, and bringing over some new gamers who had previously only played twitch games on some console. And it's also providing a way for new RPG publishers to get a foothold in the market.
Unlike TSR, Wizards won't sue your ass if you want to make a game module and print it without their permission. All you have to do is put the Open Gaming Licence in your module or game supplement, and you can slap a "D20" logo which officially marks it as "D&D compatible". How many of us older gamers remember the glory days of Role Aids game supplements? It sickened me when T$R went after the little guys with their evil lawsuits, and persecuted them for the crime of wanting to contribute to the gaming community. But now, anyone can create adventure modules, monster guides, sourcebooks, and whole campaign worlds, and sell them with no royalty fees whatsoever, getting 100% of the profit of those sales.
Doesn't sound like the policies of a monopoly to me...